Previous studies established that 6 hours of instruction focusing on cognitively demanding aspects of computer use were sufficient to reduce computer anxiety significantly among teacher education students. This paper reports on a study of whether or not it is possible to reduce anxiety at least as efficiently by providing a similar length computer experience that focuses on a less cognitively demanding experience. The sample included 154 preservice education majors at West Virginia University (Morgantown). One group of 59 education majors participated in the interactive video "Classroom Management Simulation," a simulation of four typical management problems. Another group of 96 students was enrolled in a mandatory Computer Awareness Module that is part of the Pre-Professional Skills Test required for admission into the university's teacher education program. Subjects completed a learning styles inventory and a measure of computer anxiety. Posttest anxiety scores for the simulation group were significantly lower than pretreatment anxiety, and the difference was greater than for the computer awareness group. No significant relationship was found between learning modality and computer anxiety, unsurprising since the simulation was expected to be equally effective for visual and auditory learners. Findings imply that computer anxiety may be more effectively reduced in a short time through an application that requires little knowledge about the computer itself. One table compares the pretreatment and posttreatment anxieties of the two student groups. (Contains 27 references.) (SLD)

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